Barry’s unique use for newspapers

NSW premier-in-waiting
Barry O’Farrell
managed to attract some notable business types to the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia lunch in Sydney yesterday.

Macquarie’s
Nicholas Moore
was at NSW shadow treasurer
Mike Baird’s
table; Transfield Services chairman
Tony Shepherd
, Warwick Smith and Barangaroo boss John Tabart were also at the lunch. Not surprisingly, Shepherd got in a free plug about his GWS Giants AFL club. Sydney Airport’s
Max Moore-Wilton
was spotted, and O’Farrell took the chance to pay tribute to his and Cabcharge boss
Reg Kermode’s
monopolistic powers when lamenting the lack of events in Sydney because “when conventions come to town, it’s people flying in through Max’s airport [and] using Reg’s taxis".

O’Farrell thanked hosts IPA without overstating its role in policy development, after the recent revelation the NSW Minerals Council had a bit of input into the wording of a Coalition policy document. While grateful for IPA’s input, “it’s not that they’ve done the work for us", O’Farrell assured attendees. Given he probably doesn’t need any more votes, he could also afford to joke, “I like to read newspapers on the train . . . it stops other people talking to me."